Geek Weekly #10

Picture: Filmstrip with two photos of Alfred

Alfred- the big black man- a great guy to talk to and a great cook, but an asshole to work with. If you could survive his shit through the kitchen window then you could survive the Hole. Then there's...

Picture: Filmstrip with three photos of Dotty

Dotty- Austin's only and original punk rock princess. She always rocks the house. She made the hole sparkle with performance in many different bands including the Punkaroos. And there was...

Spot- a very sweet fellow but a lousy bartender. He would get all sensitive if you tried to talk to him about his punk rock history (producing Descendents, Black Flag, Big Boys, Offenders, and Jeff Smith's Hickoids). He did not like to talk about it. He quit the Hole because they took away his bartending shift and being the sound guy at the Hole was more like a "privilege" than a job.

Picture: Filmstrip with three photos of Spot.

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Picture: several nude figures sitting on a picnic blanket with balloons.

Ok, the other two pictures are a simulated birthday party including some wacky regulars- customers made into models for my photographic fantasy world. They were just a few of the players in the drunk circus cast of the Hole

Picture: several nude figures sitting on a picnic blanket while one is on a rope swing.

So there you go- a view from inside the Hole. The Hole was a portal to the childlike timeless realm of Austin's rockin' unpretentious past, now disappearing into the yuppie mediocrity of big city blues. Salud to all the veterans of the Hole- I hope you are all drinking somewhere cozy out there in the Modern Austin. Thanks Hole for my 14 years of lushy rock n roll. I guess 29 years of rockin' is a good stretch for any little bar shack, but it played heavy on my little black heartstrings.

Call Tara Spies for all your photography needs cuz she rocks a lens" starryeyestara@yahoo.com

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Picture: line drawing of three birds.

Austin New Music Co-Op presents: An evening of compositions by Carl Smith. 19 April 2003 8pm at 1010 Willow St. (private residence) please rsvp Travis W. for this show at 512.423.4888 or travis@spiraco.com program includes works for viola and saxophone, viola, saxophone and percussion, & a piece for violin, viola, trombone, piano, soprano saxophone and oboe. Donations accepted. See www.ecfamusic.com for more info.

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Geek Weekly is pleased to welcome guest writer Señor Jacinto LaInferiora to the fold. The following material is from a recent interview with the wonderfully lush pop group the New Pornographers, the finest Canadian musical export in many years. They've got an upcoming record, Electric Version, on Matador, and are a favorite in the LaInferioria trailer home.

DECONTEXTUALIZED WORD ASSOCIATION WITH NEW PORNOGRAPHERS

Frontman Carl Newman, bassist/engineer John Collins and vocalist Neko Case.

Supergroup Carl Newman: It's embarrassing, because we're not. Any band with people who've played in other bands could arguably be called that.

Canadian Bands Suck Carl: It's just simple statistics. There's not many people in Canada, so it makes sense that there wouldn't be many good bands. I think now there's actually more good ones than there's ever been, not counting Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, the Band. There's actually bands that I think are genuinely good, not "pretty good for a Canadian." (Editor's note: including Hot Hot Heat and the Hidden Cam eras).

Sophomore Slump John Collins: You don't want to lose what was great about the first record, but you want to improve on it. It's really lame when people make the same record.

Carl: I felt a little contrary. Wanting to go in an opposite direction, maybe leaving off a song that might have been a crowd favorite because it's god a big beat. The first record has all those tra la la choirboy vocals, that was played down a little bit. We had to accept the fact that no matter what we did, there were people that would go, your record sucks. it's too much like Mass Roman tic. Or, "it's not enough like Mass Romantic." Once we realized that it kind of frees you. You just do whatever the hell yo want.

Will the Circle Be Unbroken That's what we thought Mass Romantic was. I like the idea of returning to that

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kind of earlier method of making pop records. I think it's cool that people in the '60s covered Dylan songs and did great versions because they were Dylan fans. I think we do that with Dan (Bejar, of Destroyer) though he sings on the records. It's like if Dylan came in and sang on the Byrd's "Mr. Tambourine Man," that's what out versions of Dan's songs are. And Neko, while the rest of us are slaving away in Vancouver trying to get the record done she's off being an alt-country star.

Zumpano Carl: We have a record in limbo which I think will basically be dissembled for parts. There's actually one song I really like, and not too long after I started playing it with them, I realized it would be good for New Pornographers I didn't want to be an Indian-giver, but now I think it will fulfill its true destiny.

John: It's so close. It's a real heartbreaker for the Zumpano fans.

Carl: A lot of the songs don't have vocal, or there's fake MIDI horns or MIDI strings that sound ok, but you'd want to replace them with the real thing. It's like trying to force yourself to write a 20 page term paper when you know you're dropping out of school.

Ray Davis Neko Case: I think we all kind of had the same experience. We got a call at dinner one night from out booking agent and we were like, sure, but also, oh, that;s never gonna happen."

John: "Star Struck" was a pretty inspired choice. Afterwards Ray told us that the Kinks had never played it, so that was kind of an astonishing fact: we got to debut it for the whole world.

Neko: It was a Twilight Zone experience. We know logically that it happened, but none of us can remember it. It was like being abducted, and way too good for me. I was not worthy.

O Canada Carl: I think I'd sing it in my Hootie and the Blowfish voice.

Neko: It's the same song as "Can't Help Falling in Love with You."

-Senor Jacinto LaInferiora

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